• On an endless run

Eivør / Sylvaine EU Tour 2024

Selling merch together with Nina for Eivør & Sylvaine. 27 days, 21 shows in 14 different countries. Read more
  • Trip start
    October 1, 2024

    Travel Day 1: AMS - CPH

    October 1, 2024 in Denmark ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

    Started at Schiphol dead early (00:54) with little to no sleep because the benches at the airport weren’t that comfy. Once Nina arrived we passed customs and took our flight to Copenhagen. After we landed (09:00) we got a locker to put our luggage.

    Then we had 9 hrs to kill and took the metro to Nørrebro to meet up with Bella. She showed us around town which was real nice but windy. After some sightseeing we played a card game at this great place called Bastard Café.

    Later we had some food said goodbye to Bella and went back to the airport after getting the wrong tram and lost 15 min, but still on time for the rendezvous with the bus, Eivør and crew. Around 19:00 we drove to the ferry at Rødbyhavn en route to Hamburg, Germany for the first show of the tour. Off to a good start!
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  • Show Day 1: Hamburg

    October 2, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Arrived around 2:00 at the venue which is next to the Hauptbahnhof. Our driver Artur wanted to get electricity to charge the bus, but it wasn’t working. On top of that the alarm of the premises kept going off. So when most of us woke up there wasn’t any power in the bus and couldn’t all get coffee from the machine, slightly panicked. After getting some breakfast Nina and I started to count the merch in the back of the trailer.

    We got 2 stage hands help us out getting all the boxes up to the venue. Unfortunately the soft merch for Sylvaine wasn’t there. Luckily we had cd’s/ vinyl and accessories to sell. But the boxes arrived before we left for Utrecht. So far so good!
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  • Show Day 2: Utrecht

    October 3, 2024 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    Woke up around 9:00 on the Dutch highway, home already?! Kind of a strange feeling. Anyway, I looked up through the window and saw a clear blue sky where I was expecting rain. Not bad.

    After being open for 10 years this was the first time in TivoliVredenburg for me. So it was a bit overwhelming because of the labyrinthine inner building. Everyone got a key-pass to use for the elevator. Got lost a couple of times… On the balcony Theodor was baking eggs for everyone interested and asked if I would like some too. With Parmesan! That was really nice of him and tasted good!

    Load out was at 13:30, a good thing was that we had two big carts and a ramp for the trailer to move the gear and merch up to first and 5th floor.

    Afterwards I began counting all the Sylvaine-merch while Nina set up shop. We worked almost non-stop until dinner and it was quite stressing but in the end we managed.
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  • Show Day 3: Brussels

    October 4, 2024 in Belgium ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Bus was parked in the city center in a shopping alley next to the venue. Glad that there were no endless stairs/elevators which made load in/load out less of a hassle. Almost forgot my laptop before we left 😅Read more

  • Show Day 4: Köln

    October 5, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

    Upon arrival our bus driver Artur
    wasn’t too excited about a wrongly parked car that was in front of the entrance. Especially since the venue is in a neighborhood and there’s practically no space to reverse a nightliner with trailer (approx. 20 m L, 4 m H & 2,5 m W).

    Emily & I even tried to make the car alarm go off, but to no avail. But despite the tight space to reverse Artur nailed it after 10 min of getting in and out of the bus calculating his space. Kudos to the man!

    The venue itself is quite legendary because of all the bands/artists that played there over the years. But empty it just looks like your “average” Biergarten with Cigarette Automats & Fritz Kola-signs. This was also the day that Martin (the second driver and drove Nick Cave prior) joined us for a day because Artur had to rest for 9 hrs in London.

    What made the 4th day a bit more stressed than other days was the fact that everything was an hour earlier. This is because after Sylvaine & Eivør there is another event. A disco or dance night to make a few bucks more but by a different promoter. Hence the infamous phenomenon dubbed: “Disco load out”. So merch had to be packed and out of the hall at 22:45. Not sure how we managed it but in 25 min we were ready😅
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  • Travel Day 2: Calais - Dover

    October 6, 2024 in France ⋅ 🌬 10 °C

    At night we drove to Calais and woke up around 6:30 to go through customs and get our passports stamped before we could get on the ferry to Dover. We all got a voucher for breakfast and after an hour we arrived in England. There we had to go through customs again.

    Then we drove to London and dropped off Eivør & Sylvaine. Nina, the drivers and myself then drove to the Zeppelin bus stop. Took us an hour to drive 6 miles through London traffic. Henning invited us all to a barbecue at his place in Ilford. Nina went to do some shopping, because we forgot to bring converters…

    I stayed with the bus and waited for Henning to pick me up. He brought his son along and we showed him the inside of the nightliner. He was running on the top floor, enjoying himself. Then we drove to Henning’s place and the I had a nice shower. Lovely people, great food and a beautiful home. Really beats staying on bus or at a hotel for a change.
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  • Show Day 5: London

    October 7, 2024 in England ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    London baby yeah! First show of the UK-run and as per usual no catering but the so-called buy out for breakfast/lunch and dinner. Nina got us a couple of roles and coffee before we began setting up our shop. Also had to get a couple of adaptors for our chargers because we both forgot to take them with us…

    The weather was quite nice and it only started to rain in the evening during load in. The bus with trailer was parked behind the venue. Normally you can’t park there and we got a fine of £130. But it made all a bit easier although quite dangerous with having the doors on the side of the road. So we had to really be careful not to get run over by cars/busses.

    Before the doors opened we went to get a quite bite and despite of the poorly lit spot of the merch corner we did pretty good and stayed on target with our sales. Bus call was at 00:15, did some admin and then started our drive to Holyhead to get the ferry to Dublin, Ireland.
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  • Travel Day 3: Holyhead - Dublin

    October 8, 2024, Irish Sea ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Arrived at the ferry around 6:30 and had to wait because it wasn’t leaving until 9:00. Took a good 3 hrs to get to Dublin and all had breakfast and slept a bit on benches or the whole way in cabin.

    Then at 12:15-ish we set foot on Irish soil and had to go through Custaim and we all had to get out and line up so a dog could sniff us out and the inside of the bus. Also a van with a x-ray machine went round the bus and trailer. Quite interesting and a first for many.

    So after 3 hrs of being held by customs and carnet we we’re dropped off by Artur at our hotels. To my surprise my room had a shower ánd a bath tub and decided to use both. Did some admin with Nina and then was off to meet up with Emily, Andy and Egil for a pub crawl and a visit to the statues of Molly Malone and Phil Lynott.

    Later Nina and Gwenael joined us for dinner at a place in the Temple Bar area. We continued our pub crawl at O’Reilly’s which was en route to our hotels and chatted/laughed/drank ‘til we could no more. Went to a real bed instead of a coffin/bunk around 1:00.
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  • Show Day 6: Dublin

    October 9, 2024 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Checked out the hotel at 12:00 and met up with the rest at their hotel right around the corner for bus call at 12:50. Was nice to shower and have a bath at the same time and shave my head and trim the beard. Thought I’d left it on the bus but it was in my to wash bag. Typical example of tour brain… Also felt a bit rough because of the pub crawl the night before, but it was totally worth it!

    Upon arrival we encountered a group of young teenage girls queuing in front of the venue because of this US boy band-ish act JXDN was playing as well. Some were waiting since 4:00 AM(!). Anyway, first we were put in the entrance/exit corridor with a booth and some extra space next to that. But because JXDN was playing in the green room and having a signing session at 17:00 it took too much space to
    guarantee safety for the audience.

    So we moved the merch stand upstairs next to the stage, which was a great call. Now we had space to put everything on display and have the stock nearby instead of having to get it downstairs.

    During the show some drunk guy knocked over one of the frames with Eivør’s art prints in it. And because of the high tables it was standing the crash was loud and glass was everywhere. Nice one! But the guy was a sport claiming that a Scotsman always pays his due and first wanted to buy the print with the frame and broken glass, but we needed the frame still so we convinced him to buy just the print.

    The sound of both Sylvaine & Eivør was the best I’d heard up until now. Then after the stage curfew we for once didn’t have to rush and could pack up in a relaxed way. We had to wait for Artur because he was parked on the other side of town and couldn’t pick us up earlier because of his resting time. So we put all the gear and merch boxes in front of the entrance and covered it with a big canvas to protect it from the drizzle. Around midnight Artur arrived and we loaded in all our stuff and began our drive to Belfast at 00:15. Did some admin and went to bed around 01:00.
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  • Show Day 8: Manchester

    October 11, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    This too was an early arrival at the venue and the second university on this run. Load in was an hour later than normally and I went for little stroll around the area. Quite busy with all the students, but it had a nice vibe and some beautiful buildings to boot.

    There was an industrial elevator at our disposal and rollies that we could use to get the gear and merch boxes up. One of the ways to get to the backstage was (surprise, surprise) via the stage. There still was a setlist on the wall from Duff McKagan’s show last week. Very cool considering Guns N’ Roses was a huge influence on me when I was a teen.

    To our surprise we had to prep on the venue floor because the merch space wasn’t ready until 17:00, Not ideal but we managed… i.e. adapt or die! Once we got the green light to set up shop around 16:30 we got quite a few “lost” concertgoers asking us the directions the Academy 1 to this heavy metal festival called Fire Fest which was next to the university. A different building altogether. Also some guy asked me if we had any toiletpaper because the one in the disabled toilet had run out. Maybe we should charge the venue since apparently we are an info stand as well!
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  • Show Day 9: Bristol

    October 12, 2024 in England ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Woke up around 9:30 and had a stroll through Bristol after some coffee & breakfast. Nice place but also lots of joggers and hobo’s… Apparently all the UK venues have door codes to enter backstage areas. And they take their security very seriously, almost every show there was a debriefing on what to expect from the crowd in relation to Sylvaine and Eivør. The only noticeable thing was that people faint every once in a while. Happened quite a few times in Manchester, I guess because the ventilation wasn’t working properly and the crowd got crammed into the venue.

    Konrad joined as a second driver (that did Behemoth last summer) for the second half of the tour, because of the longer drives that are up. Also when I was counting/repacking for the restock in Lyon, I occurred to me that I hadn’t have Indian food and it was my last chance to get some in the UK. And yes, it was amazing! In addition I got rid of my remaining £15 pounds by getting Nina and myself some nice drinks at the bar. The stairs were tough during load in/load out and being on a full public parking lot on a Saturday made it a bit more challenging, but again we managed!

    Moreover the floor of the tiny room (400 capacity) was awfully sticky and as Nina and I were hanging up our expo-cloth, dust and other particles came down from the rusted metal rafter… During Eivør’s show a senior lady asked if she could sit on the chair that we had at our merch tables. Of course she could! Then she asked me if the tour crew hoodie I wore was for sale as well, but I had to disappoint her obviously.
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  • Show Day 10: Paris

    October 13, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 7 °C

    Last night in Bristol we ended with our second disco load out of the tour. Which was great… Especially stairs in and out of the boat nearly killed me, the high steps were just brutal. The tiredness was getting to me a bit, but the curry we for dinner made it all better. Finished the load out at 22:30 and bus call wasn’t until 00:30. So Nina and I did our daily admin in the upper lounge while Theodor was seeing what film to put on. Starship Troopers it was! Kathrine, Theodor, Gwenael we’re up for it and Nina and myself continued our Indian food downstairs sharing it with Per and after that it was time (1:30-ish) to hit the hay.

    Woke up around 6:30 in Dover and went through customs again before we went on the ferry to Calais. Then I realized we were going to be late for load in at the venue in Paris. This was due to the time difference (BST and CEST), so we lost one hour and on top of that Konrad had to take a 45 min break before we got to Paris. Arrived around 15:30 and luckily for us there were 4/5 stage hands ready to help us with getting the gear/merch boxes upstairs.

    The venue Le Trianon is in a beautiful theater styled building with lots of marble and wood. Compared to the space we had in Bristol, Paris was huge. After load in and finally got to take a much needed shower, last one was in Glasgow. I enjoyed that one! Emily got us some great sandwiches from this place called Fric Frac, but we didn’t have time to eat until Eivør’s showtime. The first hour was really stressful because once doors opened and people crowded the merch stand, our internet reception went from bad to worse. And 15 mins into selling I got thrown out of SumUp and had to log in again, but I had no reception at that point. Aaarrrrgh! But after 10 mins or so we decided that Nina would do the SumUp for the people that wanted to pay by card and I did all the ones with cash, while writing down the amount and sizes of hard/soft merch. During Sylvaine’s set I fixed the problem and all went well. Did really good and the signing session Eivør did was a big success. Around 23:15 we started packing up and loading out because the venue curfew was at midnight.

    As soon as we all had packed and dumped our luggage at the hotel we hit the town to party! Met up with stagemanager Jas whom I met during Fensch Viking Fest last month right before this tour started. Good seeing him again and party some more at the Backstage by the Mill where I played with Helleruin the year before on the Deströyer 666, Bodyfarm-tour. At some point the party group decided to go back to the hotel for a little afterparty in Mikael’s room. Henning had a bottle of gin and Nina and Per got some juice to mix it up. Finally at 4:30 Egil and I called it a day and went to our rooms while the rest partied some more. Good times!
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  • Day Off: Paris

    October 14, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Woke up around 10:30 and realized that breakfast was until 10:00 in the hotel. Luckily Paris has plenty of choices when it comes to that.

    Went up the stairs to get to the The Basilica of Sacré Coeur de Montmartre which was just around the corner. Quite a few steps and all the tourists were panting and catching their breath, including myself on the way up. A bit later I joined Nina and Andrass for some breakfast and coffee near the place where I went to. Then we went out separate ways and I stumbled upon a toy store and bought some presents for my kids. Hope they’ll like it when I get home.

    For lunch Emily found this cozy place called Kozy and the pancakes were really good.
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  • Show Day 11: Lyon

    October 15, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    When I openend my eyes after a pretty decent sleep, I noticed that we were inside of the venue. The clock said 8:30 and I straight went out to check if the pallets of restock had arrived. They were! After that Theodor, Egil and myself went to have breakfast at this place that was next to a hospital. Nina joined a bit later, then it was back to the venue and we worked nonstop until bus call 00:30. Apart from checking/counting and setting up/selling merch, what made it harder was the heat and humidity.Read more

  • Show Day 12: Luzern

    October 16, 2024 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Slept in until 11:30 and went to my bunk around 2:00 the night before.
    When I got off the bus to check the town of Luzern with Mikael who wanted to look for an indoor swimming pool, a superfan was outside waiting to get a glimpse of Eivør. I don’t think I’ll get used to this phenomenon as I find it somewhat creepy. He was there all day until doors opened at 19:00… Anyway, when it was time to load in the trailer was too close to the elevator and the space was too tight to move the gear around. Emily had to wake up Artur and together with Konrad they moved the trailer some meters away. Now we could load in easier!

    Again a few door codes to memorize and just as in Dublin, the space we first got assigned to wasn’t that practical when the promoter saw the amount of merch we had with us. So from being put between the wardrobe and the toilets, the entrance/exit walkways of the venue plus a space to have for the signing session we moved across to the bar stage! Now we could have our stock close by and display everything at the same time. Also invited my buddy Jöschu and his girlfriend, was good to see him again!
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  • Show Day 13: Wien

    October 17, 2024 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Arrived late, around 14:30 because
    of the long drive through the mountains of Switzerland and Austria. The trailer had to be moved by a van since the bus parking space was just big enough for the nightliner. Artur wasn’t happy and said to the stagemanager that no one could touch the trailer before the insurance papers were signed. This took a while and after some phone calls all was sorted.

    Good thing that there was a group of stagehands to help us get the gear and merch into an elevator on carts. Everyone was a bit rough after the spontaneous party we had when leaving Luzern. But again we managed to bring everything to a good ending. Another noticeable thing was that during Eivør’s set a few people fell through the door to the venue. I guess they didn’t realize it was open and leaned against it. Whoops! Also invited Sasha and she came by and we had a chilled hang. Always nice to see friends when you’re on the road. During load out I was confused when I didn’t see the trailer when I came out of the elevator. But it was already put on the street in front of the bus. Went to bed around 1:00 because I was dead tired, but couldn’t find sleep right away. Around 2:00 the bus made a stop for 2 hrs at a truck stop just outside Vienna. I got up and walked to the shop for a midnight snack so I could find sleep better. That did the trick. On my way back I looked up and noticed a bright full moon shining down, like it was the sun.
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  • Show Day 14: Budapest

    October 18, 2024 in Hungary ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    Got up around 10:00 after a pretty decent sleep. Felt so much more rested than the day before which makes a big difference when you’re on tour. Theodor or Mr. Omelet made us breakfast again in front of the venue called Dürer Kert (translated: Dürer Garden). Followed by a stroll around the sunlit area, really a beautiful day. A heavy trafficked area though and got to a bridge to see the Danube River, but it was for trains only. Did get to see a bit of it next to the venue. Got myself a new toenail clipper and used it after a nice but hurried shower. When it’s time for doors it always comes faster than you think. The amount of prep and obstacles we face every day with the place/space we get for our stock is a challenge we gladly take. But we haven’t missed a curfew thus far, so that’s good!

    Both Sylvaine and Eivør sounded great, close third to the ones in Dublin and Paris. Before we left for Poland around 00:30, the drivers were puzzled because of the water system not working in the bus. The kitchen tap didn’t work and couldn’t flush the toilet. Artur kept saying: “I emptied the tank before we arrived in Budapest, it can’t be full!”. Turned out that the tank was full after all, because when we arrived at Dürer Kert in the morning, it was still closed. So everyone used the toilet on the bus, Konrad and Artur were very relieved when the mystery was solved.
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  • Show Day 15: Warsaw

    October 19, 2024 in Poland ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    The drive from Budapest to Warsaw was a long one and at times the roads were a bit more bumpy. Especially lying in your bunk you feel it the most. Just like a rollercoaster ride. We arrived around 14:00 and unfortunately for us, the venue did not have an elevator… But again we managed to get the 4 heavy boxes with lights up with Andy, Egil, 2 stage hands and myself. No need for a gym! The lovely weather of the past weeks continued in Warsaw, but when the sun went down it was really chilly with a strong wind.

    The merch space was big enough to have all are stock nearby. The Polish crowd are known for their enthusiasm and we sold like crazy. It sold out and at the signing people were screaming when Eivør and Sylvaine came to the signing table. It was packed! Probably the busiest and longest session until now. After load out it was time to celebrate this great evening. Crips, popcorn and drinks were had and all was good. Next stop: Berlin!
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  • Day Off: Berlin

    October 20, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Woke up around 12:00 feeling a bit rough. Went to bed around 3:30. We were already in Germany and a couple of hours to go to reach Berlin for the drop off at our hotel. But like many times before: Berlin traffic is a mess. It took us 90 mins to get through a couple of traffic jams caused mainly by accidents. At some point we were in a tunnel and it seemed to last a lifetime. Everyone was dying to get out and have some fresh air and space! Finally around 16:30 we got to check in into the hotel and everyone took a shower and went their separate ways. Nina and I had some admin to catch up to and for dinner we met up with Bella for some sushi. Nina found a place which was only a 10 min walk away. We were famished and ordered a starter before Bella joined. The food was good and nutritious and our bodies thanked us. Then we went back to the hotel, but first I had to go buy toothpaste. Around 22:00 I closed my eyes and enjoyed the hotel bed with two big pillows and duvets.Read more

  • Show Day 16: Berlin

    October 21, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Woke up around 8:30 after a proper & long sleep. Felt somewhat anew, but also a bit under the weather. Not that strange since your immune system gets seriously tested on the road. But still feeling more than okay. After breakfast, Nina and I did admin and accounting, checked out the hotel around 11:00 and waited to get to the venue. Nina had to get some more silk paper at a shop, because we still needed to have enough to wrap the art prints for the last six shows. I didn’t feel like waiting in the hotel lounge and told Egil I was going to the venue already. After a five minute walk I got there and found Andy waiting on a bench next the Metropol. Apparently an old theater which was opened in 1905 and for some time was a cinema too. Wikipedia is always a good place to get some info.

    I checked the internet to see if Motörhead played there in the past. Of course they did!
    11 Nov 1983 (last show ever of the Another Perfect Day-line up with Lemmy, Phil & Robbo), 04 Dec 1986 (with Savatage as special guest) and 13 Dec 1987 (with Destruction and King Diamond!) to be precise. Call me sentimental but knowing that Lemmy & Co. played there makes me happy! The stage was real narrow and deep though… Gwenael couldn’t get close to the sides when Eivør played. Also Nina and I faced a new challenge when we checked out the merch space. For tonight we had to set up shop in a round booth. The promoter of the venue was a bit reluctant when Nina asked for extra tools to work with. But justifiably Nina said that we should get at least a tad more cooperation for the merch fee they charged us for.
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  • Show Day 17: Aarhus

    October 22, 2024 in Denmark ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Felt a bit more rested when I woke up in Aarhus, went downstairs and Per was checking out places to go have breakfast. He showed me a picture of Belgian Waffels with whipped cream and I was sold! So I joined Per and Nina and didn’t realize that I took my mug of coffee with me to the cafe… Artur just gotten out and jokingly reminded that the mug was property of Coach Service, haha! Egil and Andy were still in their booth and recommended the Croque Madame which we took too!

    After our late breakfast it was time to load in and all went smoothly. Especially since Egil had been to Train before for work and knew some of the crew from Copenhell. Andy did too. The town itself I found to be really nice, mainly because of its laidback vibe. Reminded me of Oslo & Utrecht in a way. Up until now Nina and I got
    quite used to the reactions of the stagehands when they would see the contents of the trailer. “We never have seen so much merch!” and “Are we taking all the boxes in?”.
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